Introducing the First 27 Palm Beach County Charities Selected to Participate in 2017 Great Charity Challenge Presented by Fidelity Investments®

esp pressTuesday, December 6, 2016 :: Posted 09:17:13 AM EST

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Introducing the First 27 Palm Beach County Charities Selected to Participate in 2017 Great Charity Challenge Presented by Fidelity Investments®

For Immediate Release

Wellington, FL - December 5, 2016 - The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) was turned into a field of hope and dreams during the $216,000 Palm Beach County Sports Commission Grand Prix CSI 4* to benefit local nonprofit organizations on Saturday, December 3, 2016.

With over 300 applications received for the chance to participate in the 2017 Great Charity Challenge (GCC) presented by Fidelity Investments® (GCC), the excitement level was high to see whose names would get drawn out of the lottery drum. At stake: a chance to share the $1.5 million purse. To date, the event has distributed more than $9.2 million to 200 Palm Beach County Charities.

A total of 27 charities were randomly drawn throughout the evening's festivities. Event founders Mark, Katherine and Paige Bellissimo, were assisted by Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig, Vice Mayor John McGovern, Council Members Michael J. Napoleone, Michael Drahos and Tanya Siskind, Executive Director of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission George Linley, as well as GCC sponsors Dan Rosenbaum and his family, Lisa Lourie, Carlene Ziegler, Caroline Moran, Emanuel Andrade and representatives of Starwyn Farms.

Paige Bellissimo, co-founder of the GCC, commented, "The group of charities drawn tonight was the most diverse to date; it's going to be inspiring to watch them put the funds directly to work here in the community. We have high hopes that this will be our most impactful GCC yet and are looking forward to working with these charities and organizations leading up to the event."

Blending philanthropy and equestrian sports, the GCC is an exciting show jumping event that brings hope to Palm Beach County charities every year.

"We've applied for the last seven years without any luck; this is a dream come true," commented representatives of Grandma's Place, a Wellington-based organization that provides shelter and loving care to children who have suffered abuse and/or neglect and have been removed from their own homes by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Representatives of participating charities pose for a photo at the conclusion of the evening at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.

The Soup Kitchen of Boynton Beach is another lucky rookie drawn on Saturday night. A representative of the charity commented, "We're beyond excited! This is just huge for our organization, even $15,000 will help feed people in need regardless of their circumstances!"

Future charity drawings will be held at random during the first weeks of the 2017 Winter Equestrian Festival and the final two wild card teams will be drawn the night of the GCC.

Mark your calendars for the 2017 GCC to be held on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the PBIEC during WEF's "Saturday Night Lights" series. This family friendly event offers free general admission and will feature this year's event theme: Animated Characters. 34 of these lucky charities will depend on their favorite animated characters to receive a share of the $1.5 million dollar purse.

Fidelity's mission is to inspire better futures and deliver better outcomes for the customers and businesses we serve. With assets under administration of $5.5 trillion, including managed assets of $2.1 trillion as of October 31, 2016, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a diverse set of customers: helping more than 25 million people invest their own life savings, nearly 20,000 businesses manage employee benefit programs, as well as providing nearly 10,000 advisory firms with investment and technology solutions to invest their own clients' money. Privately held for 70 years, Fidelity employs 45,000 associates who are focused on the long-term success of our customers. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about